Crack Shear-Slip in Reinforced Concrete Elements

Abstract

A calculation procedure is described for estimating crack shear stresses and crack slip displacements from average strain measurements made on reinforced concrete panels. Several series of panels, previously tested, are examined and crack shear-slip data are extracted. These data are compared against the predictions of previously developed crack slip models, as well as against an alternative constitutive model proposed herein. Reasonable correlation is found between experimental and calculated values, particularly at near-ultimate load conditions. It is then shown that including crack shear slip behaviour in a computational model results in improved accuracy in terms of predicted load-deformation response and ultimate load capacity for reinforced concrete elements such as panels, beams and shear walls. Further, it is shown that rigorously accounting for crack slip displacements results in a better representation of various subtle aspects of behaviour, such as the failure mode and the capacity of elements to deform and redistribute load.